Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, January 8, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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jeer
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Modal Auxiliary Verbs - WouldThe modal auxiliary verb "would" has a variety of functions and uses, including replacing "will" for things that happened or began in the past, or describing hypothetical situations. What type of mood is used to express hypotheticals and desires? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Goddess LakshmiLakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, fortune, love, and beauty, is a principal object of worship during the holiday of Diwali. Generally considered the personification of prosperity, she is somewhat analogous to the Greek goddess Aphrodite or her Roman equivalent, Venus. The consort of the god Vishnu, Lakshmi is often depicted as a finely dressed, four-armed woman. The lotus, a symbol of purity, features prominently in such representations. Who is her older sister, the goddess of misfortune? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Innocent III Is Pope (1198)Lotario di Segni became Pope of the Catholic Church in 1198 at the age of 37, taking the name "Innocent III." He believed that just as things of the spirit take preeminence over things of the body, so should earthly monarchs be subject to the pope, and he set out immediately to realize this ideal. He was the virtual overlord of Christian Spain, Scandinavia, Hungary, and the Latin East and launched the Fourth Crusade, which went awry when the crusaders did what instead of going to the Holy Land? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Emily Greene Balch (1867)Balch was an American economist and sociologist who taught at Wellesley College until her dismissal in 1918 for opposing US involvement in World War I. She was a co-founder, along with Jane Addams, of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and served as its international secretary from 1919 to 1922. In 1946, she shared the Nobel Peace Prize with longtime YMCA leader John R. Mott. Balch was among the first graduates of what American college in 1889? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Time dissipates to shining ether the solid angularity of facts.Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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tickle (someone's) funny bone— To make someone laugh; to be humorous or amusing to someone. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Gynaecocratia (2019)The Greek title of this observance is a word that means female rule or government. This stab at feminist revolt is of long tradition in northern Greece, where it is common for women to do all the household work and for most men to take life easy in cafes. Today, in the villages of Komotini, Xanthi, Kilkis, and Serres, that standard is reversed for a day when Gynaecocratia is celebrated. The women gather in village cafes to socialize, while the men stay at home cleaning house, tending the babies, and generally looking after household tasks. At dusk, the men join their wives in celebrations. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: profitRoman holiday - Enjoyment or profit derived from others' discomfort or suffering, based on the gladiator matches enjoyed by ancient Romans. More... bottom line - A reference to the line at the bottom of a financial statement that shows the profit or balance. More... improve - First meant "to make a profit for oneself" or "to employ to advantage; to make profitable use of." More... broker - Originally, a broker or brokour bought wine cheaply in quantity and sold it at a profit; broker came to mean any retailer who did this, or a middleman/agent. More... | |